Chapter Seventy-Three – Jaws Of Death

A colossal foot sunk into the ground, uprooting chunks of earth. With no time to look for their friends, Ailith scooped her arms underneath Nassandra and hoisted her up. She hopped from one foot to the other to avoid tripping over the rubble and debris created by the goliath's heavy stomps. Although Ailith avoided tripping and falling into any of the breaches, she felt an overwhelming sensation weighing her down, and when she glanced over her shoulder to confirm her suspicions, her stomach dropped.

It was following them.

Kuval came into view, sprinting towards the beast and thrusting his arm forward, creating a bridge of diamond that nearly brought him to eye-level. Faster than he anticipated, the beast's tail cleaved through the air and smashed the diamond bridge, leaving it a brittle mess and flinging Kuval into the air. Gliding above its head, Kuval pulled back his arm to prepare another strike. The tail swiped at him from behind and he was forced to defend himself, enveloping himself in a protective ball before impact.

Left half-buried in a crater, Kuval was slow to get up as the Terragwangi reared its head back for another strike.

''No!'' Ailith screamed.

As she was about to set Nassandra down, the Princess notched the first arrow she could grab and unleashed it. The pointed head bounced off the brow of the beast, but it was enough to make it shift its gaze away from Kuval and over to them.

''I'm sorry.''

Ailith didn't know if Nassandra was saying that to her or the monster.

A low growl rumbled up its neck as it stalked the two women. Once again, Ailith was about to put Nassandra down when she saw her fumbling with the gear strapped around her waist. She pulled out a cable and tied it to her an arrow. Her clothes clung to her like another layer of skin as she hurried to make sure the cable was sure before letting the arrow fly. The cylinder in her gear spun fast enough to secrete smoke and sparks.

When the cable stopped, Nassandra turned to Ailith. ''Hold on!''

Ailith did as instructed. The jaws of the beast closed in around them. Nassandra flipped the switch and the two women were sent rocketing out of the Terragwangi's reach. They were pulled through the trees, crashing through dozens of branches in their way. Nassandra tucked herself deeper into Ailith's protective embrace. Before long, their trajectory was cut short by the tree Nassandra's arrow had become embedded in. Thinking on her feet, quite literally, Ailith skidded down the tree until they landed on the ground.

The hairs on the back of their necks bristled when they heard a mighty roar. Looking back, they could see an immense shadow charging through the trees to hunt them down.

Trying to not let fear paralyse them, Ailith turned and ran as fast as she could whilst still carrying Nassandra. She knew that she couldn't outrun it. The trees couldn't slow it down, so her best hope was to escape the forest and hope it wouldn't want to be drawn out of its natural habitat. Ailith's legs throbbed, but she refused to stop, even when she finally emerged from the trees and into what she thought was a clearing.

She pressed her heels into the ground and slewed to a full stop, inches away from the edge of a high cliff.

Ailith looked down. Even if she could protect her own body, she wouldn't be able to keep Nassandra safe from a drop that vast. Still, she persisted. ''Keep holding me, I'll climb us down.''

All it took was another thunderous roar, fragmenting the underside of the cliff, to warn the two of them off that idea.

Their monstrous pursuer closed in, pushing past the trees with no trouble. Coming into the light, Ailith had a moment to notice the difference between this behemoth and its offspring. Its horns were longer and thicker with a slight dent on the tips. The scales were overgrown, making it look more like a walking fortress than a living creature. All Ailith could see as she stared at it for a long time was absolute power. There was a small part of her that wondered if this was worse than facing Kardas.

''Ailith, what do we do?'' Nassandra asked.

Ailith looked at her but didn't know what to say. Over the Princess's shoulder, she spotted a large boulder. A cold realisation closed around the warrior's heart. Right now, she needed all the courage she could muster. Thinking back to Kuval earlier, Ailith sighed before she released Nassandra and smiled confidently. ''Take cover behind there.''

Nassandra glanced at the boulder. ''But, what'll you...'' she stopped, quickly understanding what Ailith was about to do. Her expression turned grim. ''Ailith, you cannot defeat that monster by yourself.''

''I don't have to defeat it. I've just got to punch it hard enough to show we're a meal that's not worth the effort.''

Before the Princess could protest, the Terragwangi's head poked out of the woods. Its long neck vibrated as it let out a bellowing hiss, sending chills down the women's spines.

Nassandra's chest ached, knowing that they had no other choice. Unless the others found them quickly, they were alone. And she couldn't guess how far they had been flung across the forest.

As the beast neared, Nassandra reached over her shoulder for her quiver and inspected its contents. ''I have one Armour-Piercer. I doubt it'll be effective, b-but there might be a weak spot we can exploit. If...if I find one...''

Ailith nodded. ''I trust you. If you see a shot, take it. Now go.''

Slinging her quiver back in place, Nassandra gripped her bow tightly and dashed towards the boulder, trying not to look back at the creature's large beady eyes.

''Hey!'' Ailith screamed, tearing its eyes away from her friend and onto her. She pressed her diamond-coated knuckles together. ''Let's see what you do against prey that can fight back.''

To the warrior's relief, Nassandra managed to reach the boulder and kept herself out of sight behind it. However, Ailith knew that she was still vulnerable if the wild behemoth lashed out.

The doubt she had always tried to keep locked away in the back of her mind kicked down the door and showed her a vivid image of an overpowered Kuval. Flashes of the past flickered before her eyes. An instant felt like forever, as every moment someone spat in the face of her dream came back to her. She thought back to all the cynical remarks and dubious statements she received. If she died today, then they would have been right. They could have been the ones to save her life.

For the first time in her life, Ailith was about to enter a fight she believed she wasn't going to win.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up to face the beast.

The monster's head slowly slung back, revealing a spiked neck with patterned colours that reflected the sun's light. Ailith was distracted for a second by the colours as they moved whenever it breathed. She clenched her fists and pressed her feet against the ground. She dared not blink, for even that could cost her dearly. After Kuval's attempts earlier, she knew that despite its incredible size, it moved faster than the offspring.

Hundreds of teeth came down on Ailith. The warmth of the beast's breath swathed her as she sprang to the side. The ground where she stood a second ago was torn apart. Lumps of dirt and rock were lifted by the Terragwangi's lower jaw. Before it could find her, Ailith sprinted towards its leg and let loose her strongest punch. Her diamond fist didn't leave a scratch.

As the monster turned and twisted to find her, she ran to evade the destruction left behind by its crushing steps. It wasn't enough for the warrior to watch on for the giant legs alone, she also had to contend with the rubble breaking beneath her feet. Leaping onto the debris, she jumped as high as she could and kicked the underside of its belly. Once again, her attack bounced off the tough skin with hardly a dent to show for her efforts.

The sound of the monster's tail slicing through the trees reached her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the trunks being hurled off the edge of the cliff and landing dangerously close to the boulder where Nassandra was hiding. Antagonising the beast wasn't enough. Ailith had to find a way to fend it off quickly, or the whole cliffside might come down and send them plummeting to their deaths.

Running out from beneath the monster, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a massive stomp, Ailith vaulted off a tree and onto the Terragwangi's thigh. She buried her fingers between the scales. Even the layer of skin underneath was too thick to do any damage. Gripping on tightly, Ailith glanced over her shoulder to see jagged teeth coming towards her. Shifting her body slightly was enough to dodge the monster's bite. The beast tried a few more times, but without success.

Ailith pressed her body close as she climbed up, using the scares littered throughout its body to help her ascend. Trying to forget about the searing aching puncturing her arms, she reached the top of its back thigh and crawled onto its back. She kept her head low as it smashed its body against the trees nearby, trying to brush her off. When it moved away from the trees, Ailith broke out into a sprint, snaking around the bony lumps protruding from its back.

As she got closer to the neck, the beast craned its head back to try its luck again. Ailith skidded between the humps, feeling the wind whip against her as its jaw closed a few feet above her head. Saliva dribbled out of its mouth and onto her. She looked up and stared into its massive eyes. She'd never felt so small in her life. Her gaze wandered upwards, noticing a row of spikes jutting out just below its brow. Before she could question herself over the craziest idea she'd ever conjured, Ailith vaulted upward and grabbed onto one of the spikes.

She managed to not get skewered, and she had even confused the beast as its slit-pupil flickered in all directions, trying to find her, not noticing that she was hanging right in front of it. It was the perfect opening. Ailith pulled back her fist and punched directly into its eye.

Her fist recoiled off a slick, transparent lens. The slit-pupil focused on her as she was left dangling defencelessly before its very eye.

Ailith's face paled. The fire within her diminished. ''It doesn't have a weak spot.''

Just as she was about to strengthen her grip, the Terragwangi swiftly bobbed its head down. Time seemed to slow for Ailith as she felt her fingers slip. It reared its head up at her. She crossed her arms and coated her body, but it wasn't enough. The monster's cranium slammed into her. Her lungs choked on the blood that filled her mouth. Her body bucked before limply soaring into the sky, unable to do anything as her mind ebbed into darkness.

From below, Nassandra frantically reached for her arrow. She watched Ailith rise and then fall. The Princess froze at the harrowing sight of the Terragwangi looking up and opening its jaw. She couldn't hold back her screams as she saw her dearest friend disappear into the monster's mouth.

A/N: Hello guys, girls and everyone else. The Ailith vs Terragwangi match is one that I have been looking forward to releasing for a long time now, and the next chapter is my personal favourite, so I hope that you enjoy that as well. Until next time, thank you all and stay safe. Take care.